Payload CMS vs Tally
TypeScript-first open-source headless CMS — code-first, config-driven
vs. Free, unlimited online forms — the Notion-style form builder
Pricing tiers
Payload CMS
Open Source (self-host)
MIT license. Run free on any Node host. Full admin + APIs.
$0 base (usage-based)
Cloud — Standard
$35/month. 3 GB DB storage, 30 GB file storage, 40 GB bandwidth.
$35/mo
Cloud — Pro
$199/month. Higher resources + priority support.
$199/mo
Cloud — Enterprise
Custom cloud hosting with dedicated support.
Custom
Tally
Free
$0. Unlimited forms, unlimited responses, unlimited fields. Tally branding. Basic question types.
Free
Pro
$29/mo. Remove branding, custom domain, conditional logic, calculations, form logic, file uploads, Stripe integration, webhooks.
$29/mo
Business
$89/mo. Workspaces, custom email domain, priority support, team collaboration.
$89/mo
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing oss on Payload CMS vs free on Tally.
| Metric | Payload CMS | Tally |
|---|---|---|
| No overlapping quota metrics for these tiers. | ||
Features
Payload CMS · 18 features
- Access Control — Function-based per-collection/field access rules.
- Admin UI — React admin — fully customizable components + views.
- Authentication — Built-in JWT + HTTP-only cookies + API keys.
- Blocks — Flexible page-builder pattern via block field.
- Collections — Schema-defined content types with fields, hooks, access control.
- Drafts & Versions — Version every change. Autosave, drafts, scheduled publish.
- Field Types — Rich field library: text, textarea, richText (Lexical), upload, relation, blocks…
- Form Builder Plugin — Dynamic forms with submissions storage.
- Globals — Single-instance documents (site settings, header, footer).
- GraphQL API (auto) — Full schema auto-generated.
- Hooks — Lifecycle hooks: beforeChange/Read/Delete, afterChange, etc.
- i18n — Multi-locale field values + admin UI translations.
- Live Preview — Side-by-side editor + iframe preview of Next.js site.
- Local API (zero latency) — Direct in-process data access. Ideal for Next.js server components.
- Multi-Tenancy Plugin — Multi-tenant content isolation via plugin.
- @payloadcms/plugin-seo — Built-in SEO meta fields.
- Plugins — Official + community plugins (SEO, Stripe, Form Builder, multi-tenant, etc.).
- REST API (auto) — Auto-generated REST endpoints for every collection.
Tally · 13 features
- Calculator + Variables — Formulas + variables in questions (Pro).
- Conditional Logic — Show/hide, skip logic (Pro).
- Custom Domain — forms.yoursite.com (Pro).
- Embed Anywhere — Inline, popup, slider — any site.
- E-Signatures — Signature capture block.
- File Uploads — Accept file attachments (Pro).
- Notion-like UX — Block-based editor with slash commands.
- Question Types — 20+ field types (text, choice, file, rating, signature).
- Stripe Payments — Accept payments via Stripe (Pro).
- Template Library — 1,000+ community templates.
- Unlimited Free Plan — Unlimited forms + responses on Free.
- Webhooks — Real-time submission events (Pro).
- Workspaces — Team collaboration (Business).
Developer interfaces
| Kind | Payload CMS | Tally |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | create-payload-app | — |
| SDK | @payloadcms/next (Node) | Popup / Slider API |
| REST | Payload REST API | Tally API |
| GRAPHQL | Payload GraphQL API | — |
| OTHER | Admin UI, Local API (Node.js direct) | Form Embed Script, Tally Web Editor, Tally Webhooks |
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Some links to Payload CMS and Tally may be affiliate links — Staxly may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. Pricing is verified against vendor pages at publication time — reconfirm before buying.
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